Excel author Lawrence Earl Gulley publishes 16th novel, ‘The Pioneers’

Lawrence Earl Gulley

The 16^th novel by Excel’s most prolific author hit the streets earlier week, less than eight months after the publication of his previous novel.

Lawrence Earl Gulley of Excel, who is known far and wide as one of Monroe County’s top storytellers, recently published his 16^th novel, “The Pioneers.” Officially released on Jan. 25, Lawrence began his publicity campaign for his new book during Tuesday’s morning show on WPPG 101.1 FM in Evergreen. While an e-book version of the book had been available since Dec. 28, print copies of the new 295-page book only became available this week.

Lawrence said that “The Pioneers” is the story of “Henry Smith and his brother, James, who made the arduous journey from Duplin County, North Carolina, to South Alabama in 1823. They faced numerous hardships including crossing Goshen Swamp, the threat of Indian attacks, the difficulty of building a homestead from scratch, including planting crops and building their cabins by hand, and much more. With hard work, faith and determination, they managed to carve out a life in spite of all obstacles. Their many descendants continue their traditions in their own lives and homes, all over the American South. The same core values exhibited by these dynamic pioneers continue to fuel the hopes and dreams of Americans everywhere.”

For those of you who have read Lawrence’s previous books, you’ll know that he does a lot of name-dropping. Between the pages of his latest book, you’ll find a number of names that will be familiar to many readers.

While reading Lawrence’s stories, it’s also fun to piece together the clues he drops about where his fictional tales take place. Familiar locales in “The Pioneers” include Monroe County, Monroeville, Bermuda, Fort Claiborne, Wilcox County, Camden, Conecuh County, Burnt Corn Creek, Sparta, Belleville, the Alabama River, Tuscaloosa, Mobile and many others. Again, other fictionalized locations in the book will probably also sound familiar to longtime residents of the area.

“The Pioneers” is Lawrence’s 16^th published novel. His previous books include “Cora Jean (2016),” “Peanut House (2017),” “Buffington (2017),” “Bessie’s Story (2018),” “Redtown (2018),” “Bayou County (2018),” “Brothers (2018),” “Green Briar (2018),” “The Tangled Road Home (2019),” “Layton (2019),” “The Killing of Lois Hardee (2019),” “Sweet Liberty (2020),” “Alyssa Madison (2021),” “Wisteria (2022)” and “Skeeter (2022).” If you’ve never read any of these books, I recommend that you start with “Cora Jean,” which is getting attention from movie producers in New York and Hollywood.

Longtime fans of Lawrence’s novels have most likely read all of the books above, but have no fear. Lawrence is already hard at work on his next novel. If it’s as good as his previous books, then his loyal fans have a lot to look forward to. All of Lawrence’s books are available for purchase on Amazon, but you can also pick them up in a variety of other places nearby, including the Town Market in Excel and at the gift shop at the Old Monroe County Courthouse.